Blogs from Docklands, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Oceania

Well, we made it! What a flight. We left Sacramento at 3:30 pm and flew to LAX. We then had a 6 hour layover. But by the time we got a bite to eat, walked from terminal 7 to the international terminal and found the Quantas check-in, we had used up 2 hours. We sat around reading and listening to music until it was time to board. Since we were leaving at 11:30 pm we didn't think we would get any food. But they must have been on Aussie time because they served us a full dinner 1:00 am California time. After that I decided it was time to sleep. I managed to get some pretty good sleep for about 6 hours. Stacy read and watched 2 movies. The flight lasted 16 hours. When we landed ... read more

Next thing it was 04:30 again - enforced rest obviously! 07:30 cloudy, windy with slight rain, but the apartment warm at 27 degrees. So we may find wi-fi today. Went out after 2 hot cross bunnies (well it's almost Easter) around 10:00 in search of recommended supermarket. Found Costco but as you have to subscribe gave it a miss, so wandered round the nearby Docklands shopping centre. Found general store - yay! - but hardly anything on the shelves - boo! Walked back in 70 mile an hour winds round the back of the train station only to find the Coles similar to that in Sydney that was 10 mins walk away - doh! Well at least we know what trams to catch for our night out in Collingwood all being well. Called in at the ... read more

After leaving New Zealand we crossed the Tasman Sea aka "The Terrible Tassie." We lucked out with the weather for most of the passage and then when it did start to deteriorate Captain Scala put the pedal to the metal and got us into Hobart, Tasmania twelve hours early. This trip has been remarkable thus far in many ways but especially weather-wise. To cross the immense Pacific Ocean without encountering any severe storms is very lucky indeed. There have been reports of big weather systems arriving before and after us along the way and a number of cyclones have followed in our path but due to the luck of our schedule we have managed to miss them all. Tasmania is a beautiful island almost at the end of the world. It is famous for its clean ... read more

Chilled with Ellie, Graeme and Steph all day at the apartment. We went to St Kilda festival yesterday and Steph and Graeme hadn't had a chance to enjoy Valentines Day, so they decided to go out for dinner tonight to make up for it. Ellie and I agreed we'd cook something lovely for tea and have a romantic night in! She made me King Prawn Linguine, which was fab, and we watched films for the rest of the evening. I've totally loved being in Melbourne, and in a way I'm sorry to be leaving for Sydney tomorrow. But the adventure continues and Steph is joining us up the coast for nearly two weeks, which will be great fun. I ended up staying awake until 1am... then had to be up in less than 3 hours for ... read more

We'd slept pretty badly on the plane so treated ourselves to another few layers of fancy moisturisers at the Duty Free cosmetics counters. I chose various Dior creams and by the time I'd finished, I had probably slathered on about $40 worth. Went through numerous security checks at Melbourne airport then called Steph who told us to board the Sky Train to the city centre bus station where she was waiting for us. As soon as I spotted her, I ran over for a big hug. Steph moved to Australia with her boyfriend Graeme last year and I've not seen her for 7 months. Introduced Ellie, although they have already spoken a few times on Facebook. Graeme was at their apartment when we arrived, nursing a hangover after a 3-day Bender with his lad mates. Steph ... read more